Book Review: Slurping Soup and other Confusions

I wish this book had been available years ago when I was a child and our family moved around in Africa. This book is full of real life stories and activities to help third culture kids during transitions. Children related very differently to international moves than adults. This book helps parents get an insight in to how children experience leaving a country and discovering a new country.

The book Slurping Soup and other Confusions has been written by 6 authors, each with their own professional background and they are all parents of third culture kids. One of the authors: Ulrike Gemmer even grew abroad in Jamaica, Somalia, Indonesia, New Zealand and Zambia.

All the children of the authors contributed  their personal stories, artwork, pictures, and ideas for activities. So it's a book by third culture kids for third culture kids!

In one of the first chapters D'Arcy (aged 8) writes "My first year in Vietman was wierd". He says "the worst part about Hanoi was the bad smell outside our house where the taxis parked". The story continues and following this story there is an activity: the Wierdometer. The child is encouraged to write down things they find wierd in the new country.

In another chapter Sophie (aged 8) writes that she did not feel safe in Jakarta, Indonesia when her parents went out and left her with the nanny. She would cry a lot every time they went out. Discover why she did not feel safe and how Sophie and her parents found a solution that made Sophie feel safe! The activity is make your own backup plan.

Hafsah (aged 6) discovered she had missed her favourite aunt's wedding. How could she? Without me? The connected activity is that a child can write down what special event they had missed. Then they can circle the emotion that best fits the feelings they had, like angry, disappointed, sad, heartbroken, confused, lonely etc.

There are many different fun activities: like making a special collage, learning to count in 15 different languages, brainstorming ideas for keeping in touch with relatives, marking on the map of the world where you live and have lived and where you still want to go. The activities are suitable for 3 to 12 year olds.

The book is a collection of 23 true stories. The stories explore:  

• adapting to new environments
• Who am I? Where do I belong?
• Home and family adjustment
• Cultural differences
• Friendship change

This a great book for expat parents to use with kids while preparing to leave, during the move and while living abroad. It is a easy tool to use to talk with your child about the changes and all the things that are different in the new country. It makes it easier for parents to talk about the feelings involved with all the changes. No matter in which country you are moving to you should take it along with you.

Slurping Soup and Other Confusions by Maryam Afnan Ahmad, Cherie Emigh, Ulrike Gemmer, Bárbara Menezes, Kathryn Tonges and Lucinda Willshire. Available on Amazon or on www.slurpingsoup.com. There is a facebook page: Slurping Soup and other confusions too. Interested in a preview of the book? You find a sample here of 4 chapters (includes stories and activities).

Have you used the book? What are your experiences? Do you know of other good books on moving abroad and useful for kids?

Related Posts:

• Jo Parfitt talks to the authors of Slurping Soup and other confusions (Jo Parfitt)
• Expat parents: What are your kids really thinking? (Expat everyday support center)
• Book review of Expat Teens Talk
• Sharing New Third Culture Kid Links

Book review of the new book "Expat Teens Talk"

The book Expat Teens Talk has just been published and it is written by Lisa Pittman, a practicing psychologist and Diana Smit an educational therapist. It is forwarded by Ruth van Reken, co-author of the famous book "Third Culture kids, Growing up Among Worlds".

The power of the book is that it gives expat teens a voice.

"Being an expat teen is bittersweet; You're exposed to so many amazing people and places, but there are very few others who really understand what you have experienced".

"Moving around the world helps me to appreciate all the different cultures of the people I meet". 

"I find it difficult to constantly say goodbye"

The book is written for the teens, their parents and for professionals (teachers, therapists, doctors) too. As far as I know there is no book like this one available on this topic. The teenage years are considered to be the most challenging time in one's life and if during this time international moves are made it can be a confusing and difficult time. If the teenagers struggle it usually affects the whole family.

In the first part of the book there is advice from peers, parents and professionals on each subject. At the end of each chapter there is the possibility to write down personal reflections. The youngsters that give advice have been there and they know what other teenagers who move internationally go through. Being an expat teen you can often feel "the odd one out" (I know all about it), you think you're the only one not knowing how to behave (sticking out like a sore thumb), how to dress for a certain occasion or how to act. The great thing about this new book is that expat teens discover that they are not the only ones going through these transitions. They are not the only ones experiencing all these confusing emotions. That "aha" moment can help heal the pain of the teen's heart.

These subjects are tackled: the challenges of moving, sex, drugs and alcohol, stress and worry about school grades, and what happens after expat teen life. This is a down to earth, practical book. The authors have chosen to use the word "expat teens" but these teenagers can also be called third culture kids. I would have liked to see more internet links in the book. I think our expat teens are on the internet a great deal of the time and it would have added value to this book if there would have been more suggestions on where to find information on the internet. I wish this book had existed when I made my transitions during by teenage years.

If you are interested in reading more, you can read an interview with the authors of the book "Expat Teens Talk".
Find "Expat Teens Talk" on twitter @Expatteenstalk
Expat Teens Talk blog
Are you a teen and do you want to talk about your expat experience? You can fill a questionnaire in here. Number of pages: 183 pages
Published by Summertime Publishing

Related posts:

It can be lonely

• Teenagers the sky is the limit
• New book: Emotional Resilience and the expat child
• Top 10 countries for raising children abroad
• Third culture kids going to university 
• Cultural identity confusion and third culture kids

Image by Gladtobeout Morgue file

Book review of "The Globalisation of Love". There's love in the air, all around the globe.

I heard about the book “The Globalisation of Love” on The Writer’s Abroad Radio show. Jo Parfitt interviewed the author Wendy Williams and my interest was awakened immediately. When I started to think about it, I realized that there are so many people around me in a multicultural relationship (a GloLo relationship as Wendy calls it in the book). I have neighbours, colleagues, family and friends around me in multicultural relationships. Even my own relationship brings together different cultures. The reason I choose to write a review of this book on this blog is that I have a feeling that third culture kids (TCKs) probably have more chance of entering into a GloLo relationship just because they mix with people from lots of different nationalities. Adult third culture kids usually love traveling too, so you have more chance of meeting your sweetheart on the other side of the globe.

The author Wendy Williams lived in 6 different countries and worked internationally for 18 years. Wendy is Canadian and she is married to an Austrian and is living in Vienna. They have an Austro-Canadian daughter.

GloLo couples have to bring together in addition to two personalities (which is already big challenge) their two worlds. In the book Wendy touches on different issues that are all part of a multicultural relationship, for example religion, language, location, food, and children. There is even a separate chapter on the topic of meeting the parents, this event often includes lots of traveling. Wendy has interviewed many multicultural couples and has included many examples and funny illustrations of things these couples differ in. I like all the examples because it makes it easy to relate to the different topics.

The children of GloLo parents are called GloLo children. They could actually be called Cross Cultural Kids, that’s the term introduced by Ruth van Reken.

In the book there are several Top 10 lists, like the Top 10 GloLo celebrity couples (glad to see that our Dutch Prince Willem-Alexander and our Argentinean Princess Maxima are included in the list). There are also Top 10 clues that you have GloLo children.

I can imagine that this book would be really good for couples that are extremely in love (living in the “love bubble”) as well as not so in love and struggling with multicultural issues in their relationship. The book is down to earth and helps you get an idea of what the consequences are of starting a GloLo adventure together. The book gives you “food for thought” while you enjoy reading it. Even parents and other family members of couples in a multicultural relationship should read the book because it will help them to understand the challenges faced.

You know love is in the air and it is all around the globe, so it’s good that there are books like this one.

“There is a world of multicultural romance happening out there and it is all captured in The Globilisation of Love.”

www.globalisationoflove.com

Related posts:

• New Book "Writing out of Limbo" about Global Nomads and Third Culture kids
• Heard of the magazine: Among Worlds?
• New book: "Emotional Resilience and the Expat Child"
• Great Third Culture Kid information on the web
• Cultural Identity Confusion and Third Culture kids